1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to microwave antennas for use in therapeutic or ablative tissue treatment applications. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to devices and methods for regulating, maintaining, and/or controlling the temperature of microwave antennas used in such treatment applications.
2. Background of the Related Art
Many procedures and devices employing microwave technology are well known for their applicability in the treatment, coagulation, and targeted ablation of tissue. During such procedures, a microwave probe antenna of the monopole, dipole, or helical variety, as is conventional in the art, is typically advanced into the patient, either laparoscopically or percutaneously, to reach target tissue.
Following introduction of the microwave probe, microwave energy is transmitted to the target tissue, which may cause the outer surface of the antenna to sometimes reach unnecessarily high temperatures via ohmic heating. Additionally, or alternatively, losses in the feedline, through which energy is communicated to the antenna from a power source, may contribute to heating in the antenna. When exposed to such temperatures, the treatment site, as well as the surrounding tissue, may be undesirably effected.
To prevent unnecessarily high temperatures, and the corresponding undesirable effects upon the tissue, several different cooling methodologies are conventionally employed. For example, microwave probes may include external cooling jackets. However, employing these jackets increases the overall size, i.e., the gauge size of the instrument, and consequently, the invasiveness of the procedure. As such, there exists a continuing need in the art for an improved microwave tissue treatment device that includes a cooling system to avoid the realization of unnecessarily high temperatures during treatment, as well as the gauge size of the device, and thereby minimize undesirable effects on the tissue.